MSU's Andrew Maxwell discusses Rose Bowl journey

In a photo from Dec. 28, 2013, Michigan State backup quarterback Andrew Maxwell stretches during Michigan State's open practice at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. The former starter talked Sunday about the bittersweet journey of his senior season. Maxwell told MLive.com in Los Angeles that the sweetness of reaching the Rose Bowl far outweighs the bitterness he had to endure when he lost a much-publicized quarterback competition to current Spartans' starter Connor Cook in September. (AP Photo/The Grand Rapids Press, Mike Mulholland)

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Former Michigan State starting quarterback Andrew Maxwell talked Sunday morning about the bittersweet journey of his senior season.

Maxwell told MLive.com in Los Angeles that the sweetness of reaching the Rose Bowl far outweighs the bitterness he had to endure when he lost a much-publicized quarterback competition to current Spartans' starter Connor Cook in September.

"It's been a ride, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of stuff to deal with early on," Maxwell said, appearing in his game jersey along with the rest of the No. 4-ranked Spartans (12-1) who are preparing for Wednesday's Rose Bowl against No. 5 Stanford (11-2).

"This is sweet, the sweet outweighs the bitter. This is the Rose Bowl, this is what I signed my letter of intent to be at,'" said Maxwell, who started last season after serving as an understudy to former Michigan State QB and current Washington Redskins' signal caller Kirk Cousins. "When you're 6 years old, and you watch TV on New Year's Day, you watch the Rose Bowl. I came to Michigan State to go to the Rose Bowl, so far be it from me to complain and add an asterisk.

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"This is too important to this program, too important for this team for me to downplay it and take anything away from it because maybe it didn't work out personally how I envisioned it."

Maxwell hasn't taken a meaningful snap in a game since the fourth game of the season, but coach Mark Dantonio said the Midland product has played a role in the Spartans' historic season.

"He's part of the story here . we could not have gotten to where we've gotten without Andrew Maxwell handling things the way he's handling it," Dantonio said. "You have a starting quarterback for 13 games last year, he's a senior going into his fifth year, he's a very popular person and a great person.

"He was extremely unselfish in the process, came out and practiced hard every day and was positive in the meetings and very positive around everybody. You can't get here without everyone pulling in the same direction."

Dantonio had declared the quarterback position open at the conclusion of last season, after Cook came on in relief of Maxwell and led the Spartans on a game-winning scoring drive in their victory over TCU in the 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.

Maxwell held the No. 1 spot through spring drills, fall camp and started the opener against Western Michigan, with Cook and redshirt freshman Tyler O'Connor also getting playing time.

Cook started the second game against South Florida, but the musical chairs at the position continued.

In the third game, against Youngstown State, Cook threw for four touchdowns, playing the entire first half and the first series of the second half before O'Connor finished.

Dantonio declared the QB competition over after the Spartans' 55-17 win over the Penguins.

"Everything needed to evolve because we didn't have an identity at tailback and tight end," Dantonio said, referencing junior Big Ten rushing leader Le'Veon Bell and junior tight end Dion Sims declaring themselves eligible for the draft. "We needed to become more diversified, and that's what led to the decision. I asked the coaches, 'who is going to diversify us.'"

Cook — who is more mobile than Maxwell — was the answer, as the Spartans had added the read option to their offensive arsenal.

Maxwell said that while it was a hard decision to accept, he understood why it needed to be made.

"It was getting to the point where the best thing for our team was a decision had to be made," Maxwell explained. "There's only so long that we could go playing the teeter-totter, who's in, who's out, that's taxing on the quarterbacks, that's taxing on the coaches, and that's taxing on the team.

"So it came to the point where a decision needed to be made, and Coach D made that."

Dantonio had said he was looking for a quarterback who could extend plays, and he liked the mobility Cook brought to the position.

While the statistics between Cook and Maxwell were virtually even through the first two games, Dantonio indicated that because of Maxwell's experience, more was expected of him from a performance standpoint than an inexperienced redshirt sophomore like Cook.

"You do look at production, and I'll take the onus on myself, I did need to produce more and Coach D said that nobody jumped out and grabbed it," Maxwell said. "So it was, what direction do we need to go in, since nobody has jumped out? And they decided to go with Connor, and the decision has paid off."

Cook has in fact led Michigan State to its first Rose Bowl in 26 years, winning Big Ten championship game honors along the way in the 34-24 win over Ohio State on Dec. 7 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

But the quarterback decision didn't pay off immediately. The Spartans' offense struggled in their fourth game of the season, a 17-13 loss at Notre Dame.

With Cook ineffective and having suffered a blow to his shoulder, Maxwell was brought in off the bench cold for the Spartans' final drive with little more than two minutes left in South Bend and the Spartans trailing.

"When Connor came off the series before, he had hurt his shoulder or something, and (QB coach Brad) Salem was like, 'he's down, you might need to go,'" Maxwell said. "That drive started off, my first two throws were high, could have been the timing, could have been I had my adrenaline going with a two-minute drill to beat Notre Dame, you've got 70 yards to go, trying to fit it into tight windows," Maxwell said. "Then there was the delay of game, where we had a peel, (motion) run across the center, run back, and I could have helped us by getting us out of that."

An offensive lineman jumped before the next snap, putting Maxwell and Michigan State behind the eight-ball in what had become a deafening stadium.

"Third-and-20, I got flushed up and threw it to Bennie (Fowler) high and behind him," Maxwell said. "Fourth down, I should have forced it, you've got nothing to lose, I should have forced it."

Instead, Maxwell attempted to run, coming up woefully short.

"It was hard, I didn't feel good afterward," Maxwell said. "I was kind of down in the locker room afterwards."

The next day, however, Maxwell found his spirits lifted high by his religious conviction, as he was baptized.

"I've been very open about my faith, I'm not the hero in this story," Maxwell said. "God's grace has carried me through in ways I can't even begin to tell you."

It was up to Maxwell to manage the situation in a way that would help his team achieve its goals.

"As the year went on, I got more and more of an idea of how to deal with it, what my role looks like," he said. "We established what Saturday looks like, but what does Tuesday throughout Friday look like, so once I fell into what my role was and how to play that, we moved forward."

Cook said Maxwell didn't show any negative and maintained his positive disposition around the team.

"Andrew brings a great attitude to practice and meetings," Cook said. "He's a funny guy, he cracks jokes all the time, even since I took over as quarterback. He has not lost his humor."

But how did Maxwell manage to keep that front when the competitor inside of him was burning to be back on the field on Saturdays?

For Maxwell, one of the more intellectual players on the team, it was the only logical course of action.

"You start with the atmosphere of team we have around here," Maxwell said. "Our goals were to get here, not to pick a starting quarterback, so I didn't want anything I did to detract from that goal.

"We don't go through winter conditioning, we don't go through spring ball so that this team can pick a starting quarterback, we do those things to get here."

So Maxwell set forth to do what he could to help the Spartans realize their Rose Bowl dreams, helping Cook at each turn.

"It comes down to what's a more important job; is it more important to wish you were out there, or more important to be a good teammate and make sure this team reaches it goals," Maxwell said. "I think as a guy who has been there before — a first-year (starter), experiencing things in real time, I think I can take experiences I've gone through that he's facing and relive those with him.

"Then there's stuff on the field, when you're on the field that you don't notice, so while we're standing on the sideline we can communicate, 'watch your shot clock, make sure you're set before you send a guy in motion,' stuff like that I can throw in along the way."

True freshman quarterback Damion Terry, a player in the quarterback derby himself before suffering a thumb injury the week of the Youngstown State game, said he learned a great deal watching how Maxwell handled the situation.

"I can't even put it into words, he's such a great guy, I don't even know how I would handle that situation," Terry said. "He acted so professional the way he's gone about it this year. He keeps everyone up, he always tells Connor stuff he sees on the field — it's not like he's wanting him to mess up, he's right there telling him things he sees and knows."

Maxwell said he's proud of Cook's growth, and he has celebrated his success along with the rest of the team.

"Connor has done a great job of growing every game, and that's part of being a first-year guy, you don't know how you will handle certain situations until they come up in the game, and he's done a great job of growing every game and learning from his mistakes, becoming a better leader, becoming a guy who can step in the huddle with authority and get the guy going and get them lined up, and he's made plays," Maxwell said. "You've seen times where it doesn't look exactly how we drew it up, but we're moving the ball and he's making plays, so I've been happy to see how he's grown as a player."

Maxwell said the "competitive side is staying ready, in case your number is called in the game," but he knows barring an injury his next critical action will come in an NFL team camp.

One NFL scout told MLive in November that Maxwell is on their shortlist of potential QB free agents, saying that just because Maxwell didn't fit into Michigan State's scheme this season doesn't mean he couldn't translate into a role on their club.

"That (NFL) is my plan, I still think I have the ability, and it's been a dream of mine since I was 8 years old, and here I am on the doorstep," Maxwell said. "Adversity is a part of life, that's inevitable, I think this was a good test, this was a good lesson to learn and a good time to go through it right now."

Dantonio said Maxwell has set an example on his football team that others can learn from.

"I think that's a lesson for everybody going through their struggles on teams," Dantonio said. "Maybe they used to start and they're not starting.

"It's a point of emphasis, there's no question about that, on this football team, and I think you gain a greater appreciation and a greater respect for him as an individual."